For just the second time this season, the Florida State football team is at home this weekend and will play inside the friendly confines of Doak Campbell Stadium.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 in ACC), fresh off their bye week, will host Virginia Tech (2-3, 1-0) today at 3:30 p.m. (ABC) for their home ACC opener.
FSU is off to a 4-0 start for the second straight season. However, a win over the Hokies would give the program its first 5-0 start since 2015. The Seminoles will look to do that in front of the first sellout crowd of the season for an FSU home game and are heavy favorites to win, floating between a 23.5 and 24-point favorite at various betting websites.
FSU leads the all-time series over VT 23-13, but the Hokies won the last game in the series, winning 24-3 in Tallahassee in Willie Taggart's head coaching debut back in 2018.
The Seminoles could be coming out of the bye week a good bit healthier than they went into it. Safety Akeem Dent, who has missed the last two games, and offensive tackle Robert Scott, who has missed the last three games, could both be returning to action after practicing this week. Wide receivers Ja'Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier may also be making their season debuts after missing the first four games due to injuries.
Those will be among the numerous things that we are monitoring during pregame warmups starting around 1:30 p.m. when the press box opens. We'll also share game updates once the game gets underway.
Some pregame notes courtesy of FSU:
» Florida State returns to action after an open date following its 31-24 win at Clemson. The victory snapped the Tigers’ 25-game home winning streak against ACC opponents and improved the Seminoles to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
» Florida State is No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press poll. It is the fifth consecutive week FSU has been ranked in the top-5, the program’s longest streak since 2013-14 when Florida State was in the top-5 for 27 consecutive polls.
» FSU trailed 10-0 and 17-7 in the second quarter of its win at Clemson, which marked the 12th time in Mike Norvell’s career as a head coach his team erased a deficit of at least 10 points in a victory. Clemson entered the game 83-1 at home under Dabo Swinney during games it held a 10-point lead.
» The Seminoles extended their winning streak to 10 games, the longest active streak in the ACC and the 4th-longest active streak in the country.
» FSU has scored at least 30 points in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the ACC, the 2nd-longest active streak in the nation and the program’s longest 30-point stretch since the 2013 national championship season.
» Mike Norvell is 8-2 (.800) in his head coaching career following an in-season open date and 26-9 (.743) as a head coach with more than one week to prepare for an opponent including season openers, mid-week games and bowl games.
» Florida State’s 173 points are its most through four games since 2013 - when the Seminoles scored 205 total points vs. Pitt, Nevada, Bethune-Cookman and Boston College - and the 7th-most through four games in program history. It is FSU’s 4th-highest point total after playing four FBS opponents to start a season and most since 1994.
» FSU is a perfect 17-for-17 in Red Zone trips this season. The Seminoles’ 17 Red Zone trips are 2nd nationally among teams that have scored on every Red Zone opportunity this season. FSU’s 82.4 touchdown percentage in the Red Zone is 8th in the country overall and 2nd among teams that are perfect inside the Red Zone.
» The Seminoles are one of three teams nationally to have a receiver and a rusher with a three-touchdown game this season. Keon Coleman caught a career-high three scores vs. No. 5 LSU, and Trey Benson tied his single-game career-high with three rushing scores vs. Southern Miss. Coleman is one of 19 receivers nationally with a three-touchdown game this year, and Benson is one of 32 players with three rushing scores in a game.
» Florida State’s defense has faced 30 plays inside their 10-yard line this season and allowed just eight touchdowns. In the 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU, the Seminoles faced 10 snaps inside their own 5-yard line and allowed only two scores. On LSU’s first drive of the game, the Tigers had six plays inside the five-yard line, including four snaps from the 1-yard line, and the FSU defense forced a turnover on downs with a 13-yard sack on 4th-and-1.
» The Seminoles have scored on seven of their eight opening drives of a half this season. In those half-opening drives, Florida State has scored four touchdowns and three field goals for an average of 4.6 points per drive.
» Florida State made 10 tackles for loss while allowing 0 TFLs, including sacks, in their win at Boston College. It was the first time in recorded program history FSU did not allow a TFL against an FBS opponent and the first time nationally a team had 10 TFLs while allowing 0 against a P5 opponent since Missouri's 2017 win over Florida. The only other time FSU did not allow a tackle for loss in a game was 2012 vs. FCS Murray State.
» FSU scored 31 points after halftime vs. No. 5 LSU, the most second-half points against a top-5 opponent in program history. It also was the most second-half points nationally against a top-5 opponent in a non-playoff game since September 26, 2020, when Kansas State scored 31 second-half points at No. 3 Oklahoma. That has only happened two other times since the beginning of the 2014 season, both in 2018, when Purdue scored 35 second-half points against No. 2 Ohio State and Ohio State scored 38 second-half points against No. 4 Michigan.
» Florida State’s four 4th-down conversions vs. Southern Miss are tied for the highest single-game total in the ACC and 5th-highest nationally this season.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles (4-0, 2-0 in ACC), fresh off their bye week, will host Virginia Tech (2-3, 1-0) today at 3:30 p.m. (ABC) for their home ACC opener.
FSU is off to a 4-0 start for the second straight season. However, a win over the Hokies would give the program its first 5-0 start since 2015. The Seminoles will look to do that in front of the first sellout crowd of the season for an FSU home game and are heavy favorites to win, floating between a 23.5 and 24-point favorite at various betting websites.
FSU leads the all-time series over VT 23-13, but the Hokies won the last game in the series, winning 24-3 in Tallahassee in Willie Taggart's head coaching debut back in 2018.
The Seminoles could be coming out of the bye week a good bit healthier than they went into it. Safety Akeem Dent, who has missed the last two games, and offensive tackle Robert Scott, who has missed the last three games, could both be returning to action after practicing this week. Wide receivers Ja'Khi Douglas and Kentron Poitier may also be making their season debuts after missing the first four games due to injuries.
Those will be among the numerous things that we are monitoring during pregame warmups starting around 1:30 p.m. when the press box opens. We'll also share game updates once the game gets underway.
Some pregame notes courtesy of FSU:
» Florida State returns to action after an open date following its 31-24 win at Clemson. The victory snapped the Tigers’ 25-game home winning streak against ACC opponents and improved the Seminoles to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
» Florida State is No. 5 in this week’s Associated Press poll. It is the fifth consecutive week FSU has been ranked in the top-5, the program’s longest streak since 2013-14 when Florida State was in the top-5 for 27 consecutive polls.
» FSU trailed 10-0 and 17-7 in the second quarter of its win at Clemson, which marked the 12th time in Mike Norvell’s career as a head coach his team erased a deficit of at least 10 points in a victory. Clemson entered the game 83-1 at home under Dabo Swinney during games it held a 10-point lead.
» The Seminoles extended their winning streak to 10 games, the longest active streak in the ACC and the 4th-longest active streak in the country.
» FSU has scored at least 30 points in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the ACC, the 2nd-longest active streak in the nation and the program’s longest 30-point stretch since the 2013 national championship season.
» Mike Norvell is 8-2 (.800) in his head coaching career following an in-season open date and 26-9 (.743) as a head coach with more than one week to prepare for an opponent including season openers, mid-week games and bowl games.
» Florida State’s 173 points are its most through four games since 2013 - when the Seminoles scored 205 total points vs. Pitt, Nevada, Bethune-Cookman and Boston College - and the 7th-most through four games in program history. It is FSU’s 4th-highest point total after playing four FBS opponents to start a season and most since 1994.
» FSU is a perfect 17-for-17 in Red Zone trips this season. The Seminoles’ 17 Red Zone trips are 2nd nationally among teams that have scored on every Red Zone opportunity this season. FSU’s 82.4 touchdown percentage in the Red Zone is 8th in the country overall and 2nd among teams that are perfect inside the Red Zone.
» The Seminoles are one of three teams nationally to have a receiver and a rusher with a three-touchdown game this season. Keon Coleman caught a career-high three scores vs. No. 5 LSU, and Trey Benson tied his single-game career-high with three rushing scores vs. Southern Miss. Coleman is one of 19 receivers nationally with a three-touchdown game this year, and Benson is one of 32 players with three rushing scores in a game.
» Florida State’s defense has faced 30 plays inside their 10-yard line this season and allowed just eight touchdowns. In the 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU, the Seminoles faced 10 snaps inside their own 5-yard line and allowed only two scores. On LSU’s first drive of the game, the Tigers had six plays inside the five-yard line, including four snaps from the 1-yard line, and the FSU defense forced a turnover on downs with a 13-yard sack on 4th-and-1.
» The Seminoles have scored on seven of their eight opening drives of a half this season. In those half-opening drives, Florida State has scored four touchdowns and three field goals for an average of 4.6 points per drive.
» Florida State made 10 tackles for loss while allowing 0 TFLs, including sacks, in their win at Boston College. It was the first time in recorded program history FSU did not allow a TFL against an FBS opponent and the first time nationally a team had 10 TFLs while allowing 0 against a P5 opponent since Missouri's 2017 win over Florida. The only other time FSU did not allow a tackle for loss in a game was 2012 vs. FCS Murray State.
» FSU scored 31 points after halftime vs. No. 5 LSU, the most second-half points against a top-5 opponent in program history. It also was the most second-half points nationally against a top-5 opponent in a non-playoff game since September 26, 2020, when Kansas State scored 31 second-half points at No. 3 Oklahoma. That has only happened two other times since the beginning of the 2014 season, both in 2018, when Purdue scored 35 second-half points against No. 2 Ohio State and Ohio State scored 38 second-half points against No. 4 Michigan.
» Florida State’s four 4th-down conversions vs. Southern Miss are tied for the highest single-game total in the ACC and 5th-highest nationally this season.
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